1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to greeting cards, bookmarks, and other decorative items.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The novelty, gift, and card industry is always open to new technical innovation, and especially innovation which helps the consumer and/or user to more effectively deliver personal messages to family members, friends, business associates and acquaintances. This has led to a variety of gift and card items which can be highly personalized. For example, it is now fairly common for individuals to have their own Christmas cards printed which include one or more photographs of the sender and his/her family. This results in a Christmas or other seasonal greeting which may be treasured and held by the recipient far longer than a preprinted and standard card. Another example of the highly customized novelty or greeting item is the greeting cards which are now commercially available that include a prerecorded voice or musical message which is personally generated by the sender, and which may be heard after a button is depressed, which causes a voice synthesizer to play a prerecorded message utilizing an audio output device, such as a piezoelectric crystal.
Such personalized card or gift items also have significant commercial value in the advertising specialty industry, allowing companies to personalize seasonal and other greetings in order to generate or maintain business.
It is one objective of the present invention to provide luminescent cards which include detachable decorative items, as well as a method of manufacturing the luminescent cards with detachable decorative or utilitarian items, wherein a translucent image is affixed to a luminescent carrier, which is energized when exposed to a source of exciting energy (such as light) and which serves to make the translucent image visible in low light conditions due to the phosphorescence (that is, the delayed light emission) of the luminescent material.
It is another objective of the present invention to utilize a luminescent carrier having a predetermined shape and other properties which render the decorative objective useful first as a xe2x80x9cmailablexe2x80x9d item such as a postcard (but which may be larger in size), but which includes detachable decorative or utilitarian items such as a Christmas tree ornament, a bookmark, a switchplate, a decorative wall ornament, components of a mobile, or any other utilitarian object which can serve both a utilitarian and a decorative function.
These and other objectives are achieved as is now described. The present invention is directed to a decorative item. The decorative item includes a number of components which cooperate together. A layer of luminescent material is provided. The layer of luminescent material is preferably, but not necessarily, a substantially rigid and planar carrier. A translucent image is affixed to the layer of luminescent material. The decorative item is operable in a plurality of modes of operation, including an excitation mode of operation and a delayed light emission mode of operation. During the excitation mode of operation, the decorative item is exposed to a source of exciting energy, such as light. In the delayed light emission mode of operation, the layer of luminescent material generates a phosphorescent light emission, after the source of exciting energy is removed, which passes through the translucent image and makes it visible in low light conditions.
One preferred embodiment of the present invention is to provide a decorative item which serves a dual function. First, it functions as a xe2x80x9cpostcardxe2x80x9d type mailing device which allows one to send seasonal or other greetings to a recipient. The second function is that of a decorative item. Once the item has been received through the mail, portions of the luminescent material may be removed to provide a decorative item which can be framed, secured to a wall, put on a bulletin board, used as a bookmark, placed on a refrigerator, used as a switchplate or decorative wall item, hung in a mobile, or hung from a Christmas tree as a Christmas ornament. These are merely exemplary uses, and many other decorative uses are contemplated. In order to accomplish its mailing functions, the decorative item will include a correspondence portion which includes a message portion and an address portion. The message portion contains a private message which may be either visible (like a postcard) or obscured from view (like a letter). The address information is utilized for routing by the United States Postal Service and for placement of postage. This portion is visible during normal mailing procedures in order to allow the United States Postal Service to route the decorative item to its destination. Several embodiments of this decorative item are discussed in detail in this patent application. Numerous sized mailing items can utilize the present invention; the present invention is not limited to xe2x80x9cpostcardxe2x80x9d sized mailing items.
Uses which require luminescent material in a shape other than that of a plane are also contemplated in the present invention. One preferred use is that of decorative spheres which include or are formed from a luminescent material, and which are imprinted with a translucent image (such as that of a planetary surface) which provide an attractive item when the material is luminescent.